ADOPT 2010 CONTEST

Because my human and I feel so strongly about adopting, I'm retelling my story.

Timid. That's it. One word. All the other dogs listed on the foster's site had little paragraphs to go with their pictures. I had one word. Timid. Who wouldn't be timid. One day I was in my own home. Later that day I would be dropped off at a shelter in NYC. Not long after that I was being transported miles away, out of state, to a dog foster. Because I had kennel cough I had to be kept away from the other dogs at the foster. What had I done to be moved so many times? I rarely bark, I don't chew on things, I'm pretty decent on a leash (sorry, all bets are off if there's a squirrel in the vicinity) and, dang it, I'm housebroken. Ok, I do shed like a fiend but still...

In the meantime, the person who'd become the human I own had earlier convinced her landlord to let her get a pet. Other tenants had cats. She wanted a dog. She checked out the shelters and even tried to adopt from one but the dog she had chosen had special needs and the shelter felt it best if the dog went to a different family. I hear she was disappointed but she never told me that. Anyway she continued to look and remembered a newspaper article that had been done a few years earlier about a dog foster not far from where she used to live.

She began doing an internet search and eventually found it. She checked out all the dogs and found one she thought she wanted (little did she know!) She filled out the paperwork and sent it off. She was approved and invited to come meet all of us. When she got there she learned that the dog she had originally wanted had been out on a trial adoption that apparently didn't go well and he was on his way back. My human was invited to wait.

While this was going on I followed her around like a little pumpkin colored shadow. I nudged her hands inviting her to scratch behind my ears...and she did! She and the foster mom continued to talk and I hovered at her side. She looked down at me and smiled. "I saw your picture on the computer." she said to me. Hey! She has brown eyes just like mine! Take me home! Please!

The foster mom suggested we go out for a walk together. Little did either of us realize that we were being observed to see how well we did together. We took a stroll down the street where I sniffed at just about every blade of grass in the area.
"How would you like to come home with me?" she asked and stroked my head.

I didn't like being in the car at first (oh no! Not another move!) but was persuaded and I rode with my head in her lap the whole way home. It took me a while to adjust but get this, she took time off from work to help me adjust to my new place.
There was a cat living downstairs who really took a liking to me and would rub up againsgt me every time I went out. When my human went to work I would take all of her dirty underwear out of the basket and leave it all over the living room. I didn't destroy it; I just wanted something of hers around when she wasn't there. She didn't like my redecorating with it and after a while I stopped. She bought me lots of toys but at first I didn't play with them. I kept wondering if I was going to have to move from there and I didn't want to get too attached to anything but after about three months I brought a toy over to her and asked her to play with me. Now we play all the time.

It's taken a while for me to come out of my shell but we keep working at it. She's taken me to work. The first visit didn't go too well. Let's just say that lots of paper towels and air freshener were needed for that trip. I've gotten much better with that and she's even used me with some of her clients (we call it "Chloe Therapy").

I love my new home. It's been almost three years now. My human has called me her birthday gift that has just kept on giving (I was adopted two days before her b'day.) Oh, and we took in the cat who took a liking to me. His owners abandoned him on the street when they left and my human just didn't like that at all. He's a brat but we play together a lot. I hope that all dogs (and cats too) who need homes are able to find just the right human for them. My adoption has changed my life. I'm not just one word anymore.

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